Nowhere has more been written about the murders committed by a racist than in the case of Benjamin "August" Smith. The news media flocked to the scenes and in the aftermath they converged upon all those who had known him. Perhaps the case met with such interest because of those involved - both on the racist side and on the victims side.

Benjamin Smith, a 21-year-old member of the World Church of the Creator, was distraught. Matt Hale, the "Pontifex Maximus" of Smith's beloved racist "church" had, he believed, been wrongfully denied a license to practice law in the state of Illinois. He had been in trouble at school - the Indiana University - for distributing WCOTC literature. And, he had lost his girl friend of one year because of his emotional and physical abuses toward her. Smith, a criminal justice student had previously been expelled from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, where the police said he had several run-ins with campus police, including one for drug possession. Benjamin Smith's life was falling apart.

Born and raised in Illinois, Benjamin stood 6 foot tall and weighed no more than 135 pounds. He had a tattoo on his chest which said "Sabbath Breaker." During the flier distribution incident on the Indiana University campus, Smith told a student newspaper reporter that the American government favors minorities at the expense of whites. His claims about injustices to whites mirrored those of the World Church of the Creator and its' leader Matt Hale to whom he had become quite close. And that affiliation with Hale and the convoluted teachings of the WCOTC are cited as the catalyst which left a trail of blood across Indiana and Illinois. And thus, another martyr was wrapped into the folds of the white supremacists. Another murderer was sainted for "The Cause" as his victims were maligned and marginalized by the racists and anti-semites of the extreme right.

On July 2, 1999, Benjamin "August" Smith left on a hunting trip. With him he carried a .380 semi-automatic and a .22 caliber handgun - not exactly the choice of the sportsman, but sufficient for what Smith had in mind. When he observed Hillel Goldstein and several other Orthodox Jews walking home from Sabbath services on that warm summer night, he decided that a little target practice was in order. Smith opened fire on the men and injured six. A little later in suburban Skokie, Ricky Byrdsong, former basketball coach of Northwestern Universtiy, was spending a little time with two of his children walking in front of his house. Byrdsong, an African-American was shot and killed in front of his children as Ben Smith trained his arsenal upon him. Shortly thereafter an Asian couple traveling in Northbrook were shot at as Benjamin passed them in a blue Taurus.

The morning of July 3 broke with no arrests in the shootings. As Smith drove through Sprinfield he took aim at two African-Americans missing one and wounding another. A little later a black minister, Stephen Anderson, was wounded in Decatur. When Benjamin entered Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, he shot and critically wounded an Asian student from the University of Illinois. And things got quiet.

Sunday dawned on July 4, 1999. It was Independence Day - the day that Smith reportedly considered "his Independence Day - independence from the government, from everything." That morning, Smith was still hunting - he was hunting anything non-white. Won-Joon Yoon, a twenty-six year old doctoral student at Indiana University was standing outside his Methodist Church with friends in Bloomington, Indiana as he had on many occasions. Benjamin "August" Smith just happened to see him. Smith opened fire and shot Won-Joon Yoon twice in the back killing him instantly.

Smith, his thirst for blood sated, high-jacked a van and ditched his blue Taurus later that day from a gas station in Ina, Illinois. This alerted police who quickly located him traveling toward Salem. A high-speed chase ensued and Benjamin "August" Smith refused to be captured. The chase ended when Smith pulled out a gun and shot himself below the chin crashing the van and being pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. And Benjamin Smith joined the ranks of the cannonized. He became the "exemplary student" of "The Movement." Matt Hale, the leader of the World Church of the Creator publically mourned his death and claimed to feel nothing for the victims.

A detailed search of the blue Ford Taurus owned by Smith unearthed some clues as to his thoughts, his alliances and his actions. Inside the car the police recovered a journal and other evidence indicating that Benjamin Smith went to great lengths to plan the two-state shooting spree. While the targets were random, the carnage was not. The journal contained anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi writings. It made references to the July 4th weekend, and portions are believed to have been written in the last 48 hours of Smith's life. The first sentence of the journal read: "Anyone who knows the history of this plague upon humanity who calls themselves Jews will know why I have acted."

Along with a bullet proof vest and helmet, the police found receipts which indicated that the 21-year-old racist had cashed in two individual retirement accounts, one for $6,795 and the other for $10,276. Also found was a receipt from Rantoul Press for $6,190 covering printing costs for the World Church of the Creator. The following Wednesday, the police searched a storage locker that was rented in both Smith and Hale's names where they found a computer and CD-ROM, Nazi armband and flags, printers and a box of disks. Immediately following Smith's rampage Matt Hale was interviewed and watching him dance, slither and lie led all to believe that he had much more knowledge of Smith and his plans than he was forth-coming with. Hale had a lot to lose, instead the blood bath of Smith's Independence Day placed the World Church of the Creator squarely in spotlight. While the notoriety was negative in nature, it seemed to spur the degenerates and the pathologicals of the extremist crowd toward Hale's organization. Seeing the World Church of the Creator as much more virulent and action-oriented than many of the other racist groups, racist skinheads and those with aggression on their minds seemed to become much more supportive and zealous toward the WCOTC. That Benjamin "August" Smith became a martyr for the cause is evidenced in the way that he is spoken of today. Recently, a few Creators and supporters had a discussion about Smith, and these were a few of their thoughts:

"It sucks that a white man with that much pride is gone. Hale said it best "We can't lose people like him." And we can't. But, in my heart, the man never commited a crime. A nigger, jew, or mongrel is not a human, they are beasts and Satanic bastards."

"...when sombody talks to me about Ben Smith I would simply tell them that Ben loved all white people; you and me and basicaly to truly understand Bens' action you have to understand the great enemy we, our people are facing and once you realise this enemy you will understand that Ben served his people well and sacrificed himself for our freedom!"

"I'm not a member of the WCOTC, but I remember the headlines about Ben Smith. He was made out to be such a "bad" person. Ben Smith is a true white warrior if you ask me. Before the Jewrica(today's America) was in power, this would have never been acrime. Since when did shooting a beast became a crime? Ben Smith is a warrior and a hero to all WN."

And, for $15.00 you can be the proud owner and wearer of the latest in high hate garb - A "First Amendment Martyr, Benjamin Smith T-shirt!"